This TVB palace drama is a sequel to the highly popular Beyond The Realm Of Conscience which was aired back in 2009. So, it is close to a decade before we got to see the sequel. Of course, it has a different cast now but Deep In The Realm of Conscience (宮心計2:深宮計) stays within the general theme of power struggles and palace intrigues. The review below will try to flesh out if this drama is as good as the 2009 production or otherwise with all the big stars being roped in and the big budget allocated.
Type: Costume
Episodes: 36
Release Date: May 2018
Images Credit: TVB
The Cast Of Deep In The Realm of Conscience
- Nancy Wu Ting Yan as Wang Jun
- Steven Ma Chun Wai as Li Longji/Emperor Xuanzong
- Annie Liu Xin You as Yuen Yuet
- Kenneth Ma Kwok Ming as General Yam Sam Shu
- Edwin Siu Ching Nam as Ho Lei
- Jacqueline Wong Sum Wing as Kam Yeuk Chin
- Alice Chan Wai as Princess Taiping
- Chrissie Chau Sau Na as Concubine Cheng Shunhei
- Lee Lung Kei as Emperor Ruizong
- Susan Tse Suet Sam as Lady Cheung
- Mary Hon Ma Lei as Consort Dowager Chou Yu Yin
Main Characters
Wang Jun
Wang Jun is the wife of Li Longji. She broke off with General Yam Sam Shu when she found out that she has been chosen to be the prince’s wife. When her stepmother planned to send her half-sister to the palace instead, Wang Jun disfigured her by secretly adding poison to her food. Her half-sister ended up committing suicide. In the palace, Wang Jun maintains a kind and generous facade. However, in actual fact, she is a manipulative wife who would stop at nothing to ensure that her husband gets his throne and she can become the Empress.
Li Longji
Li Longji is the son of Emperor Ruizong. He has an older brother but he manages to convince the latter to give up his pursuit to be the crown prince. Li Longji’s ambition is to inherit the throne. His plan is to give the masses peace and prosperity but being an ambitious prince, he would also ignore his conscience on certain matters to get what he wants. He has a supportive wife in Wang Jun and they did have a loving relationship in the initial stages.
Yuen Yuet
Yuen Yuet is a palace maid. She chose to work in the palace because she wanted to find out the whereabouts of her elder sister who was sold into the palace when they were young. Yuen Yuet is a courageous and upright person. She is not afraid to voice out her opinion when she sees a wrong-doing. As a result, she ended up as a servant to Wang Jun. However, their working relationship deteriorated when Yuen Yuet began to get close to Concubine Cheng Shunhei. Eventually, Yuen Yuet became the foster daughter of Emperor Ruizong. She also fell in love with Ho Lei.
General Yam Sam Shu
General Yam Sam Shu is the ex-boyfriend of Wang Jun. After they broke off, he still carried a torch for her. He is Li Longji’s trusted lieutenant and his loyalty to the prince ensured that he kept his emotions in check. Eventually, he fell in love with Kam Yeuk Chin. As a general, he is tasked to investigate various incidents in the palace and began to see the evil schemes that Wang Jun plotted. General Yam’s character is loyal, reserved, and honest.
Ho Lei
Ho Lei grew up in an orphanage. He schemed to get into the palace as an imperial guard to avenge for a massacre that happened there. However, it was all a misunderstanding. In the process, he struck up a close relationship with General Yam and Li Longji. Ho Lei is also a loyal person who is upright and capable. His love interest is Yuen Yuet in the drama.
Kam Yeuk Chin
Kam Yeuk Chin is a palace maid and became good friends with Yuen Yuet and later Concubine Cheng Shunhei. She fell in love with General Yam Sam Shu and used various means to get him to take notice of her.
Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping is the sister of Emperor Ruizong. They have a good relationship which emboldens her to try to expand her power and reach. As a result, she became Li Longji’s rival and this bitter rivalry became the backbone of this whole drama. Princess Taiping is always scheming to get the upper hand over her nephew. Her plan is to have someone that she can control to take over the throne. Her character is depicted as evil and manipulative.
Concubine Cheng Shunhei
Concubine Cheng Shunhei is the niece of Princess Taiping’s first husband. She was encouraged by the princess to be Li Longji’s concubine. Princess Taiping’s aim was to get intelligence on Li Longji via Shunhei. However, Shunhei loves her husband and that plan failed. In fact, Shunhei is a naive lady who is not well-versed in palace in-fightings and power struggles. She has 2 good friends in Yuen Yuet and Yeuk Chin.
Emperor Ruizong
Emperor Ruizong is the father of Li Longji and elder brother of Princess Taiping. At times, he is caught in between the two of them. He has a few wives whom he abandoned and left for dead when he had no power to confront the then Empress Dowager who ordered their punishment years ago. So, when he became the Emperor, he tried to atone for his sins.
Lady Cheung
Lady Cheung is the head of the palace proceedings. She oversees Lady Tsui, Nam-Kung, Wong, and Luk who, in turn, is in charge of the Jewellery, Furnishing, Food, and Attire department respectively. Due to palace in-fightings, Lady Cheung often has to tread carefully so as not to offend anyone in the imperial household.
Consort Dowager Chou Yu Yin
Consort Dowager Chou Yu Yin was abandoned by Emperor Ruizong years ago. They have a princess who later died while living a harsh life after escaping from the palace. She was invited to become the consort dowager by Emperor Ruizong when she came back to the palace after his ascension to the throne. Her motive is revenge for the abandonment years earlier.
Synopsis
The drama begins with the killing of Empress Dowager Wei (guest appearance by Michelle Yim) by Li Longji and Princess Taiping. Empress Dowager Wei has gotten too powerful in the imperial court and both nephew and aunt staged a fightback. After her death, Emperor Ruizong was chosen to sit on the throne.
Emperor Ruizong has 2 sons. Princess Taiping preferred the elder son to be the crown prince as he is not as bright and easier to control. This would have ensured her power in court affairs could remain intact. However, he declined in favor of his younger brother, Li Longji, who is much more cunning and ambitious. This started the rivalry between Li Longji and Princess Taiping to gain control of the court system. Helping Li Longji in his quest to succeed Emperor Ruizong is his wife, Wang Jun, and General Yam Sam Shu. Later, he was also aided by Ho Lei, an imperial guard.
While a power struggle was happening at the top, a palace maid named Yuen Yuet was looking for her elder sister who was taken in to work at the palace at a young age. During her stint as a maid, she befriended Kam Yeuk Chin. After some trials and tribulations, she ended up as a foster daughter of Emperor Ruizong and good friend of Concubine Cheng Shunhei.
So, did Li Longji manage to defeat Princess Taiping to inherit the throne? What role did Wang Jun play to help her husband? Did Yuen Yuet manage to find her sister? These are the key plots behind the drama Deep In The Realm Of Conscience.
Deep In The Realm Of Conscience Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Li Longji vs Princess Taiping
In the last episode of Deep In The Realm Of Conscience, Li Longji did get his throne after all. Princess Taiping wanted to seize power by using Ho Lei but was tricked instead. She was caught red-handed and was forced to commit suicide. She hung herself to death in her room.
Nevertheless, Li Longji ended up being a lonely Emperor. Everybody beside him left either on their own choosing or has died. He defeated Princess Taiping and got what he wanted but it came at the price of loneliness.
Who Is Ho Lei?
Ho Lei is actually the son of Emperor Ruizong. After giving birth to him, his mother requested Lady Cheung to smuggle him out of the palace before she died. That was why Ho Lei ended up in an orphanage. Princess Taiping thought she could use Ho Lei when she found out that he is also a prince. This would threaten Li Longji’s claim to the throne. Unfortunately for her, Ho Lei has no interest to become the Emperor. He continued to be loyal to Li Longji and helped him to trap Princess Taiping instead. In the end, he left the palace with Yuen Yuet. He decided to hide his true identity from Emperor Ruizong.
Did Yuen Yuet Find Her Sister?
Her sister has already died. Her sister was last seen bringing some soup to Princess Taiping by Lady Wong. However, she kept it a secret from Yuen Yuet as she didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble. Towards the end, Li Longji instructed Lady Wong to tell Yuen Yuet that Princess Taiping was the one who killed her sister. In actual fact, Li Longji was the one who killed her. Princess Taiping was merely the one who ordered her sister to be locked up.
This fact remained unrevealed to Yuen Yuet till the end. She mistakenly believed Princess Taiping to be the killer and this is how the drama ended. Obviously, Li Longji needed to keep this secret. Otherwise, Ho Lei will end up as his enemy as Yuen Yuet is his lover.
What Happened To Wang Jun?
Wang Jun suffered a miscarriage earlier in the drama. As a result, she became infertile. It is like karma for the evil deed that she has done to her half-sister. While her relationship with Li Longji was loving and they would work together to fight off Princess Taiping, the fact that she is unable to bear an heir caused him to be pressured to take on a concubine. So, Concubine Cheng Shunhei came into the picture.
Due to jealousy and the feeling that her position might be threatened, she plotted to cause numerous troubles to the concubine. Eventually, this caused Shunhei to suffer a miscarriage. After defeating Princess Taiping and securing his position, Li Longji banished Wang Jun to the cold palace. While she got to be Empress, she was also abandoned by Li Longji.
Who Died In The Drama?
Yeuk Chin was killed by Wang Jun when she overheard a conversation between two of her subordinates. She learned how Wang Jun had plotted against Shunhei. Yeuk Chin was about to leave when she was struck by Wang Jun with a rock on the back of her head. After her death, her lover, General Yam Sam Shu, requested Li Longji to grant him two wishes. General Yam wanted to leave the palace after he has helped Li Longji to secure the throne. He also wanted Wang Jun to be punished for her crimes. Li Longji agreed to both.
Yeuk Chin’s death also came shortly after Shunhei’s miscarriage. Shunhei also found out that Li Longji knew all along that Wang Jun was the one who caused her to lose her unborn child. But Li Longji kept quiet about it due to the fear that Princess Taiping might take the opportunity to create trouble. Shunhei felt anguished due to these various events. Hence, she decided to poison herself and Wang Jun while pretending to serve her tea. Unfortunately, Wang Jun saw through her plot and didn’t drink any of it. Only Shunhei died after drinking the poisoned tea.
Deep In The Realm Of Conscience Review – Watch Or Skip?
Despite the star-studded cast, there is nothing great about Deep In The Realm Of Conscience. I can see that they have thrown quite a bit of money into the elaborate costumes. They do look beautiful but you don’t watch a drama just because of the clothes that the characters wear, right? The whole drama just gets tiring for me because the rivalry between Li Longji and Princess Taiping just keeps going back and forth right until the end. There is little suspense in those tit-for-tat power plays that it becomes a big bore. In fact, I couldn’t keep watching and had to stop mid-way for a 2-week break before continuing.
Unlike Princess Silver which has much more depth, Deep In The Realm Of Conscience has a pretty shallow plot in comparison. Who are friends and who are foes are made clear upfront. So, there is little element of surprise as the drama moves along. On top of that, the poetic conversations among the female characters are way overdone. They might seem cute initially, but hearing them throughout the 36 episodes can become kind of annoying to me. The significant screen time of the ladies working under Lady Cheung also doesn’t really contribute to the main plot of the power struggle in the palace. Well, you would have pettiness in most palace dramas but this one has plenty of it among the ladies as a filler which just lengthens the drama unnecessarily.
The Ending
There is a twist in the ending involving Yuen Yuet’s sister. But it doesn’t give you the satisfaction that you hope for. The message is Li Longji is not the good person that he tried to portray. I can accept that but it also kind of made Yuen Yuet and Ho Lei’s characters a little naive.
All I can say is the ending is neither happy nor sad. It has a feel of indifference to me. You don’t feel for Li Longji because the whole drama lacks character development. He is depicted as ambitious and determined but his inner turmoil is never really fleshed out for viewers to have a clearer understanding of and sympathy for him.
The Acting
There is nothing great in this department either. I can’t see anyone being in their element for their role in this TVB drama except perhaps for Alice Chan Wai as Princess Taiping. She is able to give the character the evilness and arrogance required through her eyes and facial expressions. Nancy Wu’s Wang Jun cannot really match Alice Chan Wai’s Princess Taiping in terms of aura and screen presence.
Steven Ma fails to give the Li Longji character more depth. Perhaps it’s not his fault when the script is as such. Kenneth Ma appears to be too wooden in Deep In The Realm Of Conscience. I think costume drama is not really his forte as he tends to do much better in modern series such as Big White Duel.
Annie Liu did reasonably well as Yuen Yuet. Some people might find her annoying with the way she talks. But I’m not as harsh in this regard. She gives the character a kind of liveliness that is easy to accept. But Chrissie Chau is a disappointment as Shunhei. She seems to be having trouble showing the right kind of expressions as she regurgitates her lines. I know it is not easy doing both for a costume drama but her acting is a pain to watch throughout.
My Verdict
Given my Deep In The Realm Of Conscience review above, my verdict should be obvious – skip it. You won’t miss anything given the shallow plot, average acting, and endless rivalry that goes back and forth without any interesting storyline development. Nowadays, you are better off watching mainland productions for costume dramas. I don’t think TVB can match those anymore. But it can still do well in law enforcement dramas like The Defected and Flying Tiger as well as other modern themes.
So, unless you are a hardcore fan of any of the stars in Deep In The Realm Of Conscience, there is no need to waste your time sitting through the entire 36 episodes. Your time is better spent watching something else.
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